Surfacing Ch. 18

"Vik and Halena. Commoners helping me explore this territory."

"Commoners. Perhaps that is why they do not stand tall as you do? No matter. Why do you explore around here?"

"Illithids, mostly."

Tawny eyes narrowed. "Hm. Only three of you. You seek them now? Strange. Something has indeed changed." Again he casually looked about him, studying the rock and the water. "What is your goal?"

Jaunda literally bit her tongue to keep from answering; she yelped, but tasted no blood, and Iskomitneh laughed a bit louder this time.

"Aww. You resist? Impressive, but temporary."

"Not without a bargain, as you said," Vik spoke up suddenly, surprising them all. "What do you want?"

Iskomitneh's smile changed a bit, seeming to become sharper though he lost none of his beauty. He looked down at Jaunda's left hand, and she could have sworn his tongue barely flicked to the back of his teeth. That tongue seemed lavender rather than pink.

"I could bargain for your ring. It is quite stunning."

How in the Abyss would he know that? Her gloves were still on and she wore it underneath on her skin. Yet it was clear he could sense it, either the magic or the psionic of the enchantment. Was he an Illithid wearing an illusion, or something...else?

"I need this ring to complete my mission," Jaunda said, her heart throbbing more strongly now.

"And that is?"

"No!" Vik and Halena both said together.

"What are you?" Jaunda asked, her voice thick and her mind and body both seeming sluggish. She knew she was under some kind of seductive influence that she couldn't seem to back away, but an Illithid would have just ripped open her skull by now, wouldn't it? Or blanked out her mind and made her walk to their nest?

Wasn't the silence of her ring proof that Iskomitneh wasn't a mindflayer? Or was the fact that he wanted to take her ring proof that he was, because without it, she'd be fully vulnerable and it was only her Sisterhood training keeping her talking right now?

"You're quite worried, aren't you, queen's warrior?" the beautiful male cooed, taking one step closer so their body heat was shared. "It is no mystery who I am, I have told you. I have been disturbed from my slumber. Wasn't there only one Ward you've all met defending a sleeper's den?"

"Oh, goddess," Halena whispered, though Jaunda could still hear the near-panic in the sound.

"Oh yes, I remember you, too," he said to her.

She made a small sound. It was well earned. No matter their training, none of them had anything against a Dragon.

Iskomitneh waved one hand with nonchalance and looked back to the Lead. "Come. If your magic ring is too dear to you, Jaunda, let us start with what you would ask of me, and I will tell you what it is worth."

"Must we bargain with you?" Vik asked.

Iskomitneh arched one eyebrow at him. "None of you are mages. Unless you have rare metals and stones to offer me in tribute, commoner, you would do better to indulge me."

"You keep bargains?" Jaunda asked, clenching one hand nervously. "Or do you merely toy with us before dinner?"

Their lithe host laughed aloud then, and though the sound maintained its earlier tenor and beauty, it seemed so much larger as it filled the smaller space near to bursting. His tawny eyes glittered with amusement as he looked at her face.

"A peculiarity of mine, warrior. A deal once made is seen complete. You are in more danger leaving with no bargain at all. You are not traveling traders then, but prey."

Shit. She believed him, but neither option could truly be in her favor.

"Do you have a bargain with the Illithids already?" Jaunda asked.

He shook his head in the negative. "Mm. No. This Elder Mind has moved in recently."

"What is 'recent' to you, if I was not even born the last time you bargained with any Drow?" Jaunda asked.

She received that same gorgeous grin again in return. "Since I last bargained with Drow. I most enjoy how unapologetically lustful your race is. For power. For pleasure. More than any riches, unless they bring you more pleasure, more power. A wonder you remember a few centuries ago as a collective."

"Curious to hear from a creature who sleeps just as long," Vik said.

Iskomitneh shifted his eyes to the male Drow with a smirk. "Never confuse my sleep for mere unconsciousness. You cannot comprehend. You might give thanks to your goddess that I have already eaten and am willing to play instead."

Play.

"Would it amuse you to watch a confrontation between Drow and mindflayers?" Jaunda asked.

His eyes returned to hers. "Your City is preparing one?"

Jaunda nodded. "So are the Illithids. We took one of them, they took one of us. Now we are spying on them to see who learned more from their captive."

Those strange eyes crinkled a bit at the edges as he smiled. "Delightful. I have awoken at the right time. And your ring?"

"Warns me if they are too close."

His tongue flicked out. "It is nicely powerful."

"It is not for trade," she reminded him.

"Of course. So what do you want? I will tell you what it is worth."

She drew in a breath. "Your help planting a special gem as close to their Elder Mind as possible."

Iskomitneh grinned. "Ah. That must be the other thing in your pouch. What about the odd length strapped to your back, beneath your cloak?"

Jaunda felt her face flush again but she reached back slowly with one hand, holding her other out in plain view, and detached her Feldeu. The exotic Drow eyes widened with interest and plain curiosity; he held out his hand.

"Not for trade, either," Jaunda said more tersely than she meant, pulling it back.

She received a sly smile and another chuckle. "I am happy to see sign so personal, Jaunda. I only wish to study it. I will return it to you within the time it would take to you tap your foot forty times."

Though it was better that a Dragon would actually give her an exact time like that, it was one of the oddest things she'd heard in the last decade. Maybe she didn't get out of the City enough.

She handed her magical toy over to him, disliking having to do so, and she watched carefully for any lip movement or gestures toward it or her. Iskomitneh seemed to ignore her as he handled the life-like cock, sniffing and flicking his tongue at the air around it without concern for what it represented; she was fairly sure he was reading the magic in it somehow.

"Fascinating," he said. "Well made." He looked up at pinned her with his gaze again. "Is this item common in your City?"

Jaunda shook her head no. "Red Sisters only."

"You are pleasure servants, perhaps?" He seemed a bit confused there as he looked again at her garb. "The way you carry yourself suggests something more intimidating."

"We are. That's for punishment."

She received another chuckle. "Humiliation? Submission?"

"Sometimes."

"And other times?"

Jaunda shifted uncomfortably, remembering many of those other times in vivid detail. She still answered. "Making another Sister cum."

Iskomitneh exhaled soft enough to be a hiss. "Mm. You train others, perhaps? Do you feel pleasure through this magic, Jaunda, when they clutch and cum around your cock?"

"...Yeah."

"Like a true male's pleasure? Anticipation of a burst of release so divinely pleasurable you cannot wait to bury your entire length into a hot and slick orifice, to thrust again and again?"

She swallowed. She felt hot in her leather, and her heart was still pounding harder than usual. "Yeah."

He offered her the Feldeu back, and she took it. It would have been about forty taps by then.

"If you need your ring and your gem in order for me to keep my part of our bargain, Jaunda, then I have another price you may pay. Then I will help you."

*****

A familiar touch came to Elder Rausery from a message pellet, and she smiled at the timing. She reached for her own pellet.

*Yeah, I got a bit of time. Coming.*

She got up to head toward Elder D'Shea's quarters, using a longer, less direct route. A brief invisibility spell would allow her to walk into the other's quarters silently and unobserved, with permission this time; no pesky ward to break first.

Elder Rausery thought D'Shea's quarters smelled like an infirmary at first, though it was fading and she could tell the Consort had freshly bathed himself. He was washing the bed sheets in the tub now, new ones already pulled tight on D'Shea's bed. When the door opened only briefly, he spun around, eyes sweeping the entrance but he did not see her at first.

D'Shea sat at her desk with fresh meals on a tray that she must have picked up on her way back from summoning her peer. She was nibbling and oddly relaxed. There was enough food for three if they divided the two over-generous portions, though D'Shea had not risked getting an extra plate to arouse any suspicion.

Eating off the same plate, either with D'Shea or with the Consort. Rausery wasn't particularly picky—plates had been a premium possession on the streets—but she had to chuckle at the mental image it gave her given the high paranoia of the well-to-do about tainted food. Auslan's eyes fixed on where she stood, based on her laugh, and—interestingly—relaxed when he realized who it was. He'd been told who to expect. Duly noted.

"Welcome, Elder," D'Shea said cordially after dismissing the cloaking spell, then resetting her ward and privacy spells. "Are you hungry?"

"I could eat. That's a lot, though."

"It's more for him." She nodded toward Auslan, who was hurrying to finish up laundering the bed sheets.

Rausery observed him doing it and observed D'Shea's nonchalance about the task. "He's gotta finish his chores first before he eats?"

"More that he will regardless, and he's used to cold food."

"Meaning you haven't made it a condition on eating."

"No, I have not."

"Huh."

Rausery watched Auslan a few moments longer, able to read that he was highly aware of being talked about and even somewhat embarrassed, but he didn't stop what he was doing, now wringing the extra water out and preparing to hang it to dry in the back. The Elder shrugged and lifted the spare chair to set on the other side of D'Shea's desk so they'd face each other, pulling the tray her way to test then take a few large bites. She didn't mind the short break, frankly.

Soon enough, however, she could also tell when the Consort was finished that task that needed to be done—she even approved getting it done as quickly as he had—but then he got to fussing over straight lines just a little too much, already trying to tug or smooth out wrinkles.

They'd be here all fucking cycle.

Rausery raised a questioning eyebrow at her peer, tossing her chin toward the Consort.

*Try,* D'Shea signed back.

"Auslan," Rausery said aloud, projecting her voice to fill the chamber. "Stop. Kneel by the desk."

D'Shea smirked at her and watched with interest, putting her chin in her palm and saying nothing. The Consort did slow his actions, but soon got distracted by another wrinkle.

"Auslan!" her voice boomed again. "Stop. Kneel."

His hands stopped, but when his feet shifted to begin stepping toward them, they hesitated, shifted, turned around.

"AUSLAN! Stop! Kneel!"

He flinched, took a deep breath, and forced himself to come to them. He was shaking, wanting to look behind him at the hanging sheet again, she could tell.

"Eyes on me!"

She got his eyes looking at her chin, and it was good enough for Court but not enough to keep his mind where it should be. She slammed her gloved palm down on the table and stood up, towering over him. "EYES ON ME! YOU LOOK AWAY AGAIN, I'LL HOOK YOUR EARS TO THE DESK TO KEEP YOUR DAMNED EYES OFF THAT BACK WALL!"

The Consort swallowed. And kept his eyes on her. He was even thinking about the Elder right then.

"Very good," D'Shea commented, suppressing her full smile into a wry one. "Auslan, do only as Elder Rausery says while she's here. My courtesy."

He blinked, disbelieving for a moment. He began to look from Rausery to D'Shea when Rausery slammed down her palm again, shaking the tray and the desk, making Auslan jump again as she put her face mere finger-widths from his. She could hear his heart pounding now and he kept his eyes on her nose, still unable to look at her eyes.

"You're not kneeling."

Auslan got down immediately, hands flat on his thighs, back straight, now looking at Rausery's boots. He'd clearly done this before.

"You done wasting my time, Consort?"

"Yes, Elder," he answered promptly.

"You think when it's between me and a wrinkly sheet, you should be paying attention to me?"

"Of course, Elder."

"Your actions don't say so. I even gave you a bit longer to finish up your task. I was a secondary concern to a pretty sheet. That's stupid, Consort."

"I apologize, Elder," he whispered.

"We back to being smart?"

"Yes, Elder."

"Are we? No more Uroan shit?"

"Yes, Elder."

"Holding you to that. Mind and body together while we talk, Consort, no drifting off into lala-land."

D'Shea gave her a very odd look then, and Rausery signed, *What?*

The sorceress shrugged and waved her hand for her to continue. She wanted to observe further. Odd that she didn't want to try to direct this, but Rausery considered it a good sign that her peer did know when to step back from time to time.

"You hungry, Auslan?"

"...No, Elder."

"You will be. You let me know when, *before* I hear your stomach speak for you."

"Yes, Elder."

"You don't want what'll happen if you disobey me here."

He swallowed again. "Yes, Elder."

Again D'Shea had that odd, contemplative look on her face as she considered the both of them; Rausery would love to know what she was thinking about.

"You were pretty good reporting the facts to me last time," Rausery said. "I want you to do that again."

The touch of added firmness that came over his expression was fascinating. He'd changed since she'd first met him. Or maybe since spending time with Shyntre. Still seemingly weak, timid, obedient when he wasn't getting obsessive about something disorderly...

But he'd healed Sirana somehow after she'd been torn to shreds. He'd dreamed about Brom and that desert ring. He had that look Shyntre sometimes had when he was steeling himself up inside for a questioning he'd already decided he wouldn't be spilling everything.

Auslan wasn't as weak as most females would assume him to be. The fact was what he had done when it really mattered defined him better than any Priestess's training. He had some irritating qualities and he would act his role well enough, but she saw a toughness there he shared with the wizard.

Rausery bossing him around even now didn't get her high, as if she thought she was actually controlling him every second he breathed, the way some Nobles seemed to believe. She knew far too much for far too long to make that simple, stupid mistake. Nobility was a crock as a concept, anyway, though she granted that it often came down to resources and control of knowledge between competitors.

It was exactly the reason Auslan obeyed her now; she had the resources and controlled more knowledge than he did. All he had to work with was what he wanted to keep for himself. He'd have to give her some of it now, whether he liked it or not.

"So, you saw a Human force a firebird ring on Sirana's finger in a dream," she began bluntly.

D'Shea broke into a broad grin, and that expression she could actually read. She knew the compulsion was broken.

Rausery signed at her, *Fuck you and him both with a mushroom shaft.*

The sorceress sniggered and leaned back in her chair, resting her forearms on the rests, not saying a word in return, not speech or sign. She just looked at Auslan, whose mouth was hanging open a bit. The good male hadn't turned to his gaze away to look at the sorceress, but he could read Rausery's hands just fine, even if he didn't comprehend their significance.

"Am I right, Auslan? You saw the firebird ring and Sirana."

"...Correct, Elder."

"That the only time you've seen this ring, or this Human, or has he shown up again since?"

His expression—his distress—was too fresh, too clear to think it had only been one time. D'Shea's continued amusement was clear on her face.

"What happened the second time you saw him?" Rausery asked.

Auslan couldn't help himself; he looked at D'Shea, almost pleading for guidance, or maybe leniency, Rausery wasn't sure. She drew a dagger and slammed it point-side-down into D'Shea's desk, right in his line of sight, as if she was severing the invisible link between them. He looked back, and she could hear his heart again.

"What did I tell you about looking away? You want a new set of earrings?"

"F-forgive me, Elder."

"Thank you, Rausery," D'Shea said, crossing her arms beneath her breasts and looking for mild irritation at the fresh gouge in her desk.

"Welcome, Varessa. You're wasting my time again, Auslan. What. Happened?"

"I saw him injured, but still wearing the ring," he whispered. "And I healed him. For a price."

D'Shea was dead silent and Rausery leaned forward a bit, her grip still on her dagger. "You have to fuck him to heal him, like you did Sirana?"

That question made him flat-out shudder. He shook his head with urgency. "No."

The sorceress sat up straighter; her eyes had widened enough for Rausery to know that answer was significant. More mage shit. Maybe it meant he would be able to do that in real life one day? Heal without fucking?

Rausery let go of her dagger and let it remain sticking straight up out of the desk. "What was your price?"

"That...that he wouldn't trap Sirana, hurt or kill her or her unborn for what they'd done to him."

"That's all?"

"Yes, Elder."

Stupid, she thought. But then, not only was he inexperienced with non-Drow threats, but Rausery didn't really know how much or how little Auslan cared about the baby he'd sired on D'Shea's favorite novice. By his age, the Consort probably already had fifteen or twenty offspring he'd never met; he probably didn't even know if they were still alive or if they died before or during the Purge.

Sirana wasn't likely to carry to give birth to it anyway, unless she made it back to the Underdark pretty fucking fast.

Like in the next six months. And didn't face off with the Illithids with the rest of the Sisterhood. An Illithid battle didn't lend itself toward that child's favor, either, unless its mother simply stopped being a Red Sister, and Rausery didn't see Sirana being able to stop. Not after how far she'd come in such a short time.

*Shit.*

"Wait." D'Shea couldn't help herself; Rausery had wondered how long she could keep quiet before asking something. "Sirana injured him?"

Auslan nodded without turning his head away from Rausery. "Her and those she hired."

D'Shea leaned back and went quiet again, nodding slightly to her peer. Rausery was a little irked she seemed to be getting more out of this dream-talk than she was.

"Is this really happening?" Rausery asked.

"I don't know," he whispered. "Something is happening. Right now, on the Surface. Something Sirana is involved in."

D'Shea was tapping her chin, now. Goddess, did Rausery recognize that expression. What far-off connection was she making now? What would her expression look like when Rausery made yet more for her?

"So... the Human is still alive, and Sirana did meet him in truth?"

Auslan's expression changed subtly as he actually looked Rausery in the eyes for a few seconds. He nodded once. "Still? Should he be dead, Elder?"

"After this long, yeah. He's not, though."

Rausery got that glorious change in D'Shea's expression she had wanted.

"Have you been searching for him on the Surface, Rausery?" D'Shea asked quietly, her eyes almost blazing with her thoughts.

Her peer's face made her smile.